A chintz finish is obtained on a textile fabric by a glazing process wherein the fabric is subjected to the action of a hot polishing roll, such as a calender, to impart a shiny surface to the fabric. Originally, chintz finishes were achieved by polishing a fabric which had been treated with starch and wax glazes. However, these finishes were not durable, and were removed by laundering. Later technology involved the use of resin glazes which could be cured on the fabric and which would thereby provide some degree of permanence to the chintz finish. Still, after a half dozen or more launderings, the characteristic sheen of the chintz is lost.
The calendering or polishing operation which has been used heretofore to provide the chintz finish has presented particular difficulties when applied to printed fabrics. During the calendering operation, the pigment applied to the fabric tends to pick off the fabric, contaminating the polishing roll, and then being transferred from the roll back onto the fabric, resulting in a smeared appearance to the printed area which renders the fabric either as second quality or totally unusable.
Additionally, printed chintz fabrics produced by conventional processes known heretofore have tended to be relatively stiff, especially where relatively large size printed pattern areas are involved. While the fabrics have been widely used in drapery and upholstery applications, they have found limited usefulness as apparel fabrics where a more soft and supple fabric is usually desired.
With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved chintz fabric and method of production which overcomes the aforementioned limitations and disadvantages.
More specifically, it is an important object of this invention to provide a chintz fabric having improved durability to laundering and dry cleaning.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a chintz fabric with an enhanced, luxuriously soft, satiny hand and excellent drapability properties which make the fabric particularly well suited to use in a variety of applications, including wearing apparel.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a process for producing chintz effects on printed fabrics which alleviates quality problems caused by transfer of pigment on the hot calender roll.